Nixa, West Plains, Ozark and Mt. Vernon Advance To Blue Semis At Blue And Gold

By Don Louzader

CREATED Dec. 27, 2012

  • Print

  • Nixa's Bryce Dulin Guarded By Glendale's Scott Harned In Quarterfinal Round Game at 67th Annual Greenwood Blue and Gold Tournament

The second and third seeded teams in the Blue Division went down to defeat Thursday in the quarterfinals of the 67th Annual Greenwood Blue and Gold Basketball Tournament in Springfield.

The Mt. Vernon Mountaineers coasted to an 80-62 win over Rogersville at JQH Arena. The Wildcats were picked third in the Blue Division. Mt. Vernon held a slim 15-10 lead after the first quarter, but outscored the Wildcats 26-16 in the second period and went up 64-38 after three.

The Mountaineers, who will play Ozark at 5:30 p.m. Friday in the semifinals, were led by Luke Call's 21 points. Shane Williams had 19 for the Mountaineers, while Chandler Myers put in 15 and Zane Phillips scored 14. The Wildcats had two players finish with 21 points: Justus Boever and Corbin Medley.

The Ozark Tigers advanced to the semifinals in the Blue Division by upsetting second seeded Strafford 65-58 at JQH Arena. 

The Tigers bolted to an 18-8 lead after the first quarter, but Strafford tied the game in the second period before Ozark went up 29-24 at halftime. 

Ozark carried a 43-41 lead into the fourth quarter and used an 8-3 run to seemingly pull away from the Indians, going ahead 57-46 with 2:48 left in regulation.

But a personal foul, followed by a technical foul on Ozark's Nick Cookinham allowed Strafford to get back in the game as the Indians converted four free throws, got the ball back and scored, then got a steal on the inbounds and scored again to pull within three, 61-58, with 1:14 remaining.

However, four missed shots on one possession in the final 40 seconds proved costly for the Indians, and Ozark held on to advance.

Brett Krisik had 24 points for Ozark, leading all scorers. Jacob Wade finished with 19 points and Brandon Foley had 18 to lead the way for Strafford.

The Nixa Eagles had another dominating performance, beating Glendale 76-28 in the Blue Division quarterfinals. 

The Eagles, who advance to Friday's semifinals, got 13 points from Austin Ruder, while Carney Wilmes put in 12.

The Eagles used an 11-0 run in the first quarter to jump out to a 20-9 lead over the Falcons, and extended the margin to 43-16 by halftime. The turbo clock was in effect throughout the fourth period.

Nixa will face West Plains in Friday's semifinals at Hammons Center. The Zizzers, seeded fourth in the Blue, beat fifth seeded Crane 72-56.

West Plains hit 11 three pointers in the contest, and was led in scoring by Justin Davis with 15 points. Zach Flippin had 13 for the Zizzers. Cole Walden's 18 points led the way for the Pirates.

Winner's bracket games are being played today at JQH Arena, while the consolation round (losing teams from Wednesday's opening round) is taking place at Hammons Student Center.

Ava beat Buffalo 55-50 to open the consolation slate at Hammons. The Bears had a 28-18 halftime lead, but the Bison cut it to 35-34 at the end of the third and stayed close down the stretch.

Austin Gastineau had 23 points to pace Ava, while Buffalo's Calvin Dryer led his team with 28.

Morrisville pulled away from Miller with a big three pointer in the final minute, 54-47, in a consolation round game at Hammons. Dustin Hargus led all scorers with 15 for the Panthers. Morrisville will take on Ava in the consolation semifinals on Friday.

Camdenton downed Lebanon 56-42 in another consolation contest in the Blue Division. The Lakers were ahead 21-15 at the half but extended the margin to 11 points in the third quarter and never looked back.

Junior Kullen Carlock had 16 points to lead the Lakers in scoring.

Camdenton will play Fair Grove in Friday's consolation semis. The Eagles beat Conway 71-63 at Hammons Center. The two teams were knotted 17-17 after the first quarter, but the Eagles outscored the Bears 21-7 in the second frame. Conway was down 50-44 after three, but Fair Grove pulled away late.

Fair Grove's Jayden Happel had 26 points to lead all scorers, while Michael Thomas put in 18. Josh Cunningham's 15 points led the way for Conway, while freshman Austin Chastain added 12.

The evening session features games in the Gold Division, with consolation around action continuing at Hammons Center, while the winner's bracket contests will be played at JQH Arena. Tipoff is 5:00 p.m at both venues.

Here are the scores and schedules from today's action at the Blue and Gold Tournament, with seeds in parenthesis:

Blue Division Consolation Round: Hammons Center:  

Ava 55, Buffalo 50

Morrisville 54, Miller 47

Camdenton 56, Lebanon 42

Fair Grove 71, Conway 63

Gold Division Consolation Round: Hammons Center

Mountain Grove vs. Skyline  5:00 p.m.

(5) Clever vs. Mansfield  6:30 p.m.

Spokane vs. Aurora  8:00 p.m.

Willow Springs vs. Greenwood  9:30 p.m.

Blue Division Quarterfinals: JQH Arena

(1) Nixa 76, (8) Glendale 28

(4) West Plains 72, (5) Crane 56

(7) Ozark 65, (2) Strafford 58

(6) Mt. Vernon 80, (3) Rogersville 62

Gold Division Quarterfinals: JQH Arena

(8) Marshfield vs. (1) Parkview  5:00 p.m.

Reeds Spring vs. (4) Bolivar  6:30 p.m.

(7) Hartville vs. (2) Republic  8:00 p.m.

(6) Branson vs. (3) Willard  9:30 p.m.

 

j